The Uprising

As the hour grew ever-darker for the Soviet Union and its leadership, the chiefs of the Ministry of Experimental Science entertained several options and cared little for consensus. Some chose to flee the nation, or attempted to do so in vain. Others surrendered to Allied forces. The most committed of the Ministry's officers, however, steadfastly continued their research, even in the face of imminent defeat. With many of their colleagues gone, several layers of bureaucracy had vanished, allowing these remaining officers to rapidly continue with whatever it was they were cooking up in the Ministry's secret halls.

The only known product of this desperate time is the Desolator Trooper Programme (DTP), which breeds front-line soldier so terrible that their very existence flies in the face of an astonishing 71 different International Provisions of Appropriate Military Conduct.

Although the officers responsible for the DTP proved to be among the Desolator Troopers' first victims, the Desolator Troopers eventually (and surprisingly) proved to be agreeable enough to willingly enlist in the Soviet resistance, for they had no other place in society. Nor did the Soviet resistance have the luxury of turning anybody down.

The Ministry also provided the resistance with a refurbished old prototype of the KDB-5 Sickle walker: the Reaper, which was originally sold to the ministry by the Kazminov Design Bureau for a cheap sum. The Reaper is heavily armed, equipped with three grenade launchers and a rocket launcher capable of attacking air targets. It is also equipped with the same armor as Soviet tanks, making it much more durable than the Sickle. Though unlike its lighter cousin, its legs will snap when attempting to jump, rendering it immobile.